Utility knife

Abstract

A utility knife is provided with a guard for preventing the user's fingers from being lacerated by the blade or from being abraded by contact with material being cut. The guard can be a removable guard attachable to the knife using a fastener that also secures two halves of the knife handle together. The removable guard can include a work-engaging member with a slot through which the blade protrudes. The cutting depth, or the angle of the work-engaging member can be adjusted by providing in the guard a suitable slot through which the fastener extends. Different kinds of work-engaging members can be provided, including an insulation stripping guide, a guide having narrow ends aligned with the blade for visual guidance, and a guide having diverging sides for cutting flooring.

1 . A utility knife comprising: an elongated handle having opposite sides extending along the direction of elongation, and opposite ends spaced from each other along the direction of elongation; a blade fixed to and protruding from the handle at one of said opposite ends; a guard detachably connected to the handle, the guard comprising a pair of side members spaced from each other and respectively in abutting relationship with opposite sides of the handle, the side members being rigidly connected to each other by a work-engaging member having a slot through which said blade extends; a through hole in at least one of said side members; and a fastener extending through said through hole and connecting said at least one side member to the handle. 
     
     
         2 . A utility knife according to  claim 1 , in which said handle comprises two separable elongated parts held together by said fastener. 
     
     
         3 . A utility knife according to  claim 1 , in which said through hole is an elongated through hole extending in a direction parallel to the blade, whereby, by loosening the fastener, the position of the work-engaging member relative to the handle can be adjusted. 
     
     
         4 . A utility knife according to  claim 1 , in which the through hole is an elongated through hole extending substantially parallel to the direction of elongation of the handle, whereby, by loosening the fastener, the position of the guard can be adjusted longitudinally for adjustment of the extent to which the blade is exposed beyond the work-engaging member. 
     
     
         5 . A utility knife according to  claim 1 , in which said through hole is an elongated through hole extending in a direction both transverse to the direction of elongation of the handle and parallel to the blade, whereby, by loosening the fastener, the angular relationship of the work-engaging member and the direction of elongation of the handle can be adjusted. 
     
     
         6 . A utility knife according to  claim 1 , in which said through hole is one of two through holes in said at least one of said side members, said two through holes are spaced from each other and said fastener can be alternatively extended through the other of said two through holes for adjustment of the position of the work-engaging member relative to the handle. 
     
     
         7 . A utility knife according to  claim 1 , in which the blade has a cutting edge and an opposite edge, in which the work-engaging member is formed with two narrow ends, both aligned with the blade, and in which the blade extends through the slot in the work-engaging member between said narrow ends. 
     
     
         8 . A utility knife according to  claim 1 , in which the work-engaging member is a concave U-shaped member adapted to receive an insulated cable. 
     
     
         9 . A utility knife according to  claim 1 , in which the work-engaging member is a convex member having work-engaging surfaces on both sides of the slot, the work engaging surfaces both diverging from each other and being disposed at an angle of 135 degrees relative to the protruding part of the blade. 
     
     
         10 . A utility knife comprising: an elongated handle having opposite sides extending along the direction of elongation, and opposite ends spaced from each other along the direction of elongation; a blade fixed to, and protruding from, the handle at one of said opposite ends; a guard detachably connected to the handle, the guard comprising a pair of side members spaced from each other and respectively in abutting relationship with opposite sides of the handle, the side members being rigidly connected to each other and each side member having a laterally protruding guard positioned adjacent the end of the handle from which the blade protrudes by a distance sufficient to prevent a user's hand from sliding past the end of the handle from which the blade protrudes, at least one of said side members having a through hole; and a fastener extending through said through hole and connecting said at least one side member to the handle. 
     
     
         11 . A utility knife according to  claim 10 , in which the through hole is an elongated through hole extending substantially parallel to the direction of elongation of the handle, whereby position of the guard can be adjusted longitudinally. 
     
     
         12 . A utility knife according to  claim 10 , in which said handle comprises two separable elongated parts held together by said fastener. 
     
     
         13 . A utility knife according to  claim 10 , in which the side members are rigidly connected to each other by a work-engaging member having a slot through which said blade extends 
     
     
         14 . A utility knife according to  claim 13 , in which said through hole is an elongated through hole extending in a direction parallel to the blade, whereby, by loosening the fastener, the position of the work-engaging member relative to the handle can be adjusted. 
     
     
         15 . A utility knife according to  claim 13 , in which the through hole is an elongated through hole extending substantially parallel to the direction of elongation of the handle, whereby, by loosening the fastener, the position of the guard can be adjusted longitudinally for adjustment of the extent to which the blade is exposed beyond the work-engaging member 
     
     
         16 . A utility knife according to  claim 13 , in which said through hole is an elongated through hole extending in a direction both transverse to the direction of elongation of the handle and parallel to the blade, whereby, by loosening the fastener, the angular relationship of the work-engaging member and the direction of elongation of the handle can be adjusted. 
     
     
         17 . A utility knife according to  claim 13 , in which said through hole is one of two through holes in said at least one of said side members, said two through holes are spaced from each other and said fastener can be alternatively extended through the other of said two through holes for adjustment of the position of the work-engaging member relative to the handle. 
     
     
         18 . A utility knife according to  claim 13 , in which the blade has a cutting edge and an opposite edge, in which the work-engaging member is formed with two narrow ends, both aligned with the blade, and in which the blade extends through the slot in the work-engaging member between said narrow ends. 
     
     
         19 . A utility knife according to  claim 13 , in which the work-engaging member is a concave U-shaped member adapted to receive an insulated cable. 
     
     
         20 . A utility knife comprising: an elongated handle having opposite sides extending along the direction of elongation, and opposite ends spaced from each other along the direction of elongation; a blade fixed to, and protruding from, the handle at one of said opposite ends; a guard comprising a pair of laterally protruding guard members positioned adjacent the end of the handle from which the blade protrudes, said guard members protruding respectively from said opposite sides of the handle by a distance sufficient to prevent a user's hand from sliding past the end of the handle from which the blade protrudes.